Land Galore

"You're back, Boss Bry. Richi was looking for you."

"Alright, thanks for telling me."

Brian came at the right time, before his shop closes. Richi should be clearing up his workshop right now so he just waited outside just for a couple of minutes

Since Lucy is also busy restocking the wares on the displays, Brian took the opportunity to play with the handheld game cube. Despite buying it for his daughter, he never played it once.

It's a good use of time controlling Pac-man once again. He was able to beat the first level before Richi came out of the workshop.

"Boss Bry! I have good news! I was able to finally craft the teacher's standard of the Tranquility Brush."

Richi immediately turn around as soon as he came out and return to the workshop to bring something along with him. It's the same brush being displayed in the middle yet it appears different. The bristles were smoother-looking, the wooden handle was crafted to perfection, and it emits a calming aura unseen by the naked eye-- all in all it's the same but better.

"Have you tried it yet?"

"No, after how my father is addicted to using it for himself and mother, I don't want to dare."

<Tranquility Brush>

<Potential: SS->

<Recommended Price: 5 gold>

It has the same description as the ones inside the workshop that was made by the System's avatar. Except this time, rather than a grade S+ potential, it is the first SS he saw not created by the System itself.

Brian expected the recommended price would also change, but the system's price probably denotes from the standard quality, which is the SS- potential. He had been selling the lower quality brush for the recommended price because it was a requirement.

With that, he asked Lucy to change the set price under the Tranquility Brush display from 5 to 6 gold because it would be unfair for those who had purchased it before to have a better product at the same cost.

They won't be producing an S-grade Tranquility Brush from now on. It is out of the shelves. Brian instructed Lucy what she would be saying to those customers who will ask about this.

Now for the product testing, since Paia was playing with Rina outside, there are only two options who will be having their hair stroked. He wanted it to try to Lucy but decided to just try it for himself to understand the effects of an SS- grade product.

"You want me to do it for you, Boss?"

"No…" Brian never thought he can be scared because of a hairbrush.

'It should not be as effective if you use it to yourself- right?'

Putting the brush awkwardly on his head, he slowly brought down the bristles on his hair. The trickle of mana the on tip of the bristles gathered from the surroundings have seeped into his skin.

He tried using the S grade brush on himself before, but the feeling he is getting right now is very different compared to that time. The fatigue he never thought he had started fading away pleasantly like floating down on a calm river. Unlike before which made him sleepy, the pleasant feeling didn't bring out a single yawn from him.

He's awake more than ever which was weird since they just had a tiring trip to Gorgdon village.

"How is it, Boss?"

"My fatigue is all gone-- like what a good night's sleep would do. You should try it for yourself, you must be tired from hammering ores all day."

"I'll pass on that."

Richi didn't try it for himself, but he still brought five brushes he created on his way home. He's giving it to his parents and his siblings who use it... Of course, he paid for it according to its price. He has enough gold to spare when he's earning much from being a smith in Nova.

Brian wanted to just give it away, but rules are rules. The System has 10% share in all Specialty Products that go out of his shop. Which reminded Brian he needs to deposit some of his profit today in the Item Shop.

Since the System is forcing him to pay the debts besides the sales of Specialty Products, 50% of what he earns himself would be put on the Item Shop. 30% of that half is going to his his unending debt, while the rest is for saving up if he decides whether he uses the Item Shop.

Although he doesn't have to force himself from paying that amount since the System doesn't restrict him tightly. It's his choice to divide his total profit in half. He can change it later as long as the System is seeing his willingness to pay the debt.

His balance right now looks like this…

Physical Money or Money outside the Item Shop – 7120 gold

Sparable Item Shop Balance – 380 gold

Debt to be paid – 999,999,996 royal coins

Brian has earned more than 10,000 gold for the past month or so. Yet, it's just a drop of water in the ocean compared to the red number in his balance list.

Nevertheless, he has a lot of gold he can spare in hand. He's planning to purchase the remaining lots in his district before the price of the land increase because of him.

There is also the risk of other businessmen taking the spots because Nova is receiving customers even from other districts. So that's 6,000 gold down the drain immediately. But it's an investment he's going to do sooner or later-- Better if it's earlier. The billboard reward made him realize he needs a lot more space for his future plans.

…

Going to the Association is the first thing Brian plans to do as soon as he finishes their morning routine.

On his way out, he met several new faces bringing a cart filled with materials needed for his operation. These people are new faces hired by Ogz since he won't have time to do these menial tasks any longer. Even though, these goblins are still part of the 'Finest Nova Provider' agency.

Brian greeted them one by one like a friendly neighbor, not knowing those goblins doesn't know he is the big boss they are working for.

Going from district to district, it didn't take long before he reached the Association. Brian is confident he won't lose his way in Soliel from the times he roamed around already.

"There you are, Hutch. Haven't seen you visit my shop yet."

Brian was one of the first batches of people who entered the Association. Despite being the earliest, a lot of people were already being entertained by the staff. He can guess by the number of Avian people going in, these are the refugees trying to get their citizenship.

"haha… Didn't have the time. These days have been hectic with the Avian problem going on. This place has been my house for the past week."

"I can see that… Will Soliel be able to handle accepting all these people?"

"The King is planning to extend and add District 10 when all is set, but Soliel still has a lot of space for these refugees even before it."

That was news for Brian. He never thought the city is still expanding.

"Now that you said it, I need as much space as possible. I'll be taking what's left on my side of the road. Those remaining lots on my place-- I'll have them all."

"Your business is really going very well… It might be the cheapest lands of Soliel, but 2.2 yalms of land is still going to cost you about 6400 gold."

Yalms is the largest measurement of distance in Soliel. In Brian's standard, it's about 75.5 meters for 1 yalm. And usually, the width of the lands District 9 is offering is half of its length. So in total, Brian has about 6500 square meters of open lot excluding the one he already bought.

That's as big as a warehouse you would see surrounded by factories. However, it's still smaller than what Brian thought.

"It should be 2.4 yalms right?"

"Someone bought the land that was adjacent to the wall border."

"The furthest of the furthest? Who would want to buy that location when it takes at least an hour and a half to reach starting from the beginning of District 9?"

"Well, you just did. But for privacy purposes, I can't share it with you."

It was unfortunate for Brian to not have everything although it is still great considering a lot of refugees are coming in. The King probably has a place prepared for them.

For the strange person who took a spot from him, it was literally the end of the road which removes some complication. He never noticed anything built that far away so he didn't care that much. Not to mention, there's a kilometer of free land between his Nova and that strange buyer. He'll have more problems looking for things to put up in the vast barren space.

"The deal is done. If I'm not mistaken, you should be the only normal citizen who owns that much land. You'll become a noble at this point." Hutch finalized all needed paperwork.

"I'm looking forward to it…"

Nobles raised from Soliel city are rare. Most nobles staying at Soliel are those coming from outside due to circumstances or simply because they had the power.

From the information Brian got, the King only given three family names the noble name which the cities in the continent of Teph accept.

Yet for now, Brian is going to need to create a name for himself.

"Since it looks like it would be a busy day today, I won't stay for long… I can offer something that will help you remove your fatigue."

"Ooo~ that would be nice."

"For 6 gold."

"You don't waste an opportunity to make money. Can't gift a friend…? I'll take it anyway." Seeing chaos is starting to occur in the office, Hutch will do anything to avoid going insane.